‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Review: Patrick Wilson Directs And Leads A Smart And Layered Mix Of Scares And Character Development 

The fifth film in the franchise and a direct sequel to 2013’s “Insidious: Chapter 2,” “Insidious: The Red Door” is a confident and satisfying addition to the series. 

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Picking up ten years after the events of the second film, the Lamberts are a fractured family in mourning. Patrick Wilson returns as Josh Lambert, a father struggling with the loss of his mother, Lorraine, and keen to mend the relationship with his oldest son, Dalton, again played by Ty Simpkins. He agrees to drive the talented artist to his Ivy League university, hoping the road trip and settling him in will help them reconnect. Things don’t go to plan. At the same time, a psychological trigger revives a past Dalton didn’t even realize he’d forgotten (or, more accurately, had been made to suppress), and it gradually begins to insert its dark fingers into his reality, opening a gateway to a nightmarish realm. The gateway is a red door that haunts his art and his dreams, a portal in the Further that Josh and Dalton must unite to close for the sake of their family, past and present. 

Wilson, who also makes his directorial debut with “Insidious: The Red Door,” and Simpkins aren’t the only returning cast with Rose Byrne returning as matriarch Renai Lambert, Andrew Astor back as son Foster Lambert, and Lin Shaye back as Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier. A handful of new faces join the cast, most notably Sinclair Daniel as Dalton’s college friend Chris and Hiam Abbass as art teacher Professor Keck. Daniel gets plenty of work to do and does it excellently, bringing humor, quirk, and an authentic human connection, but it would have been great to have been able to spend more time with Abbass’ crotchety scholar. 

“Insidious: The Red Door” gives Wilson his most comprehensive opportunity to explore his character, and he runs with it. There are layers to Josh Lambert revealed here that flesh out what has come before in a natural and interesting way. He gets his own story, and it’s a good one that creates a new and more personal connection with the audience. Sadly, Byrne’s character isn’t afforded so many extra layers, but they get their own fuller narrative journey as a partnership. Additionally, even after a ten-year hiatus, the natural chemistry between this prize pairing is as engaging and compulsive as ever. It’s genuinely great to see their relationship being more of a focus. 

While Scott Teems wrote the screenplay based on an idea from producer Leigh Whannell, Wilson, someone with a deep connection to the Insidiverse, had a real and present hand in shaping the story, and that is evident. It’s one of the main reasons this feels like one of the franchise’s most personal and connected films. He’s as bound to this material as the Further is to the Lamberts, and his absence from the patchy prequel “Insidious: Chapter 3” and decent Rainier-centric fourth entry, “Insidious: The Last Key” has given the actor-director a little distance to create a clarity of vision. 

Like Dalton, the franchise has grown up and is at a point where it is embracing its roots while also exploring its own identity. The characters and their relationships have grown dramatically in the decade off-screen. Dramatically and narratively, this has been a rich seam of opportunity, and there is a complexity to the characters that stands spotlight here. If the “Insidious” franchise were a person, “Insidious: The Red Door” would be the brain. 

It would have been effortless for all involved to have treated “Insidious: The Red Door” as a greatest hits outing to presumably round out the Lambert trilogy, festooning it in jump scares and legacy pandering. What audiences get instead is something that knows where it came from but attempts, and largely succeeds, to build its own creative space and identity around it. There are the anticipated tropes and beats in play, and the franchise’s trademark boogeymen and women are also present, but the smart film does not rest on its laurels or rely on cheap tricks and jump scares. That said, the frights are multiple, creative, and high quality, especially in the adventurous third-act showdown that sticks the landing nicely for the most part. It’s also worth noting that if this is your entry point into the realm of all things “Insidious,” the narrative clarity ensures you will totally get what is going on right out of the gate.

Wrapped in the instantly identifiable color palette, Autumn Eakin‘s cinematography, Adam Reamer‘s lush production design, and Beth Kushnick‘s set decoration (as well as some killer work from the sound design team) all add components of depth that match the conviction of the character building in the script. “Insidious: The Red Door” isn’t a franchise cash in or a half-hearted reunion to close things out in a superficial way. It is challenging to fill in the gaps, service the lore, and create something that feels as much like a new beginning as it does an end of a chapter, but Wilson and Co achieve it. While it may be time, and somewhat bittersweet, to say goodbye to the Lamberts and their parapsychological baggage, this is a well-conceived and impressively executed finale to the saga. It also proves that Wilson has what it takes both behind and in front of the camera. It’s a little scary how multitalented he is. [B-]